


Bloodsucker

by Sidi



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Blood Drinking, Halloween, M/M, Mind Control, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Other: See Story Notes, Rape/Non-con Elements, Vampires, blood sucking, klance, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-27 15:04:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8406298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sidi/pseuds/Sidi
Summary: Lance catches something nasty on an isolated planet.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A note about the non-con/rape tags. This is your typical vampire story where mind control is used. The sex doesn't start until chapter 2 and it is fairly non-graphic, but it does happen. Let me know if you want any clarifications. 
> 
> Also, Lance is a traditional villain in this meaning he is not the type of vampire who is going to sparkle and be nice. Remember vampires are traditionally the bad guys. 
> 
> I am also making no claims that this is good under any definition of the word, but I love Halloween, Vampires, and Voltron so I couldn't help myself. This was originally a chapter in my ongoing Klance fanfic, but it suddenly became too long for that so I wrote a separate Halloween chapter for that. I guess I went full Halloween this year, ha ha.

 

It had been your routine mission to gather supplies on an uninhabited planet when Lance realizes that he has lost time.

No, seriously. One second, he is exploring a small cave system just to the right of the group. The next, he is on the ground on his back with the feeling that time has passed. Hunk is at his side, shaking his shoulders gently.

“Hey, are you ok? Did you fall?” Genuine concern ripples through the Yellow Paladin’s voice.

“Uh, I guess I did fall. Maybe I hit my head?”

“We should put you in the pod when we get back, dude. You didn’t respond for a long time”

Lance hears someone walk up beside Hunk.

“Christ, did you somehow get hurt in a mission that doesn’t even have any enemies?”

Of course its Keith, Lance thinks. Of course.

Keith’s tone is teasing though and without malice. They had actually been getting along lately. Both had to admit that they make a great team and the tone of the bickering had shifted into something almost affectionate.

“No, I already finished my job so I was taking a nap!” Lance shoots back, not caring how stupid that sounds.

Keith rolls his eyes, but rests his hand on Lance’s shoulder after Hunk helps him to his feet.

“Alright, but next time tell us when you want to nap so we know why you aren’t responding, ok?”

After returning to the Castle, Hunk forces Lance into a pod. It is only a few seconds before Lance pops back out with a clean bill of health. They both shrug it off. No big deal. The pod would have caught something if it were wrong. After dinner, Lance goes into his room and falls into a restless sleep.

_Lance is back at the cave. He is inside it though he doesn’t remember ever going into the cave. He is on his back on a slab of what feels like concrete. Figures swirl around him. They are dark and he cannot make out their faces. They whisper words he doesn’t understand. As the images fade to black, Lance feels hands pin his arms down before there is a prick of pain in his chest._

He wakes up in the morning exhausted. The dream is just a vague memory swirling in his head. He shakes off an ominous feeling and heads down to breakfast. The food goo, which is always bearable but not great, tastes worse today. He asks if something was off about it and is only met with confused stares.

Lance also feels restless, more than usual. There is extra energy running through his body and he finds himself actually wanting to train. He offers to join Keith in the training deck and notices a bit too much when there is a moment of still silence around him before Keith, perhaps a bit too happily, says he would like that. 

As he and Keith leave the room together, he smells something beautiful that he is pretty sure is coming from Keith.

“Are you using a new shampoo?” He asks the other boy.

“Uh, no, just the same as usual. Where would I even get a new shampoo?”

He figured as much, but couldn’t understand why the dark-haired boy in front of him smelled so much better than usual.

Training goes as expected-Keith is better than him, but patiently tries to help. Lance seems to fumble more than usual, his limbs feeling bizarrely not like his own. He can’t calm down to settle into a good sparring stance and Keith lands him on his ass repeatedly.

At night, the goo tastes even worse than this morning, but no one else notices a difference.

Maybe I am just tired, Lance thinks. I didn’t sleep well. I had weird dreams. Everything is fine, he reassures himself as he falls into another restless sleep.

_The same setting greets him tonight. Figures huddle over him as he lays on the concrete slab. He can see them more clearly now, hooded though and no faces that he recognizes. They seem mostly human except for glowing eyes and features that seemed just a bit off. The whispers come to him in bursts-A paladin? I know...just kill…but wouldn’t…we can see…bring it to me…blood…he’s cute…_

_Lance appreciates the last part equally as much as he does not appreciate the large syringe that now hovers over him. He tries to scream, but nothing comes out. He is paralyzed, helpless._

_The needle plunges directly into his heart. He jerks, hands grasping, but stronger hands pin his arms down. A hand is laid on his forehead as he whimpers in pain._

_Relax, a voice tells him. It’s almost over._

_And it is. Now Lance is flying, or maybe swimming. He can’t tell. He can see currents that exist everywhere that he didn’t before. He can float on them, his body light as a feather. He is flying above the atmosphere and can look down at the world below him. He can see Keith, Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro, gathered in a small group, finishing the mission. Keith looks worried as he speaks insistently into his helmet. Hunk is gesturing toward the cave system while Pidge taps their fingers against their helmet, looking confused._

_They look small beneath him._

_Lance feels something that seems both hot and cold spread across his body. It’s in his blood, in his veins._

_As he drifts into darkness again, he feels a restless beating underneath his skin, echoing in his head as one of the figures gently strokes his hair._

The goo in the morning is even worse than the day before.

 

**********

 

Lance can mostly pretend that everything is ok. Day in and day out, he forces the goo down. He dreams vividly. He is tired and pale and Shiro occasionally takes him aside and asks him if he is ok. Hunk lets him know its ok to talk if he needs to. But, he is managing. Perhaps wearing down, little by little, but fighting against the idea that something could actually be wrong with him. The healing pods found nothing and Lance could not exactly define what was wrong. He just knew that he was tired and hungry for something other than food goo that tasted like garbage.  

The event that throws Lance’s precarious control out the window happens in a group sparring practice. They are practicing fighting against more than one opponent. They practice 1 or 2 against three with the current formation being Keith and Shiro versus everyone else. Everyone ignores Lance’s grumble that this isn’t a fair breakdown despite his team’s number advantage.

 It is a fairly low-key practice because Allura doesn’t actually want any of them hurt. However, Pidge somehow gets a good shot in on Shiro, using her speed. It throws Shiro off-balance. He wheels his arm backward to regain his balance and accidentally hits Keith in the face. A surprising amount of blood explodes from his nose. Lance, who was currently sparring with Keith, immediately tries to help, cupping Keith’s face in his hands. It looks worse than it is-Keith assures the horrified Shiro that he is fine. He congratulates Pidge on the hit. Allura calls the training off and tells everyone to clean up and relax, except for Keith who is ushered into a healing pod.

Everyone scatters pretty quickly except for Lance who, for some reason, volunteers to clean up the blood that had dripped on the floor. He stands for longer than necessary, staring at his hands and the now drying blood on them.

Without thinking, he leans down and takes just a little lick.

Immediately, his taste buds are on fire. He moans loudly, happy that no one is around him at the moment.

He immediately licks every drop from his hands. Then, his eyes fall to the ground.

Later, he prays that no one actually watches the tape from the security cameras in the training deck. Prays no one will ever see him on all fours, like a dog, lapping the blood from the dirty floor.

That night, Lance does not dream.

 

**********

 

When Lance wakes up that morning, he knows he is different now. The goo is no longer disgusting, but just bland. Like eating air. The restless energy has settled deep inside his body and now felt natural. When he follows Keith to the training deck, he walks behind Keith slightly closer than necessary. He gets as close as he dares to the other boy’s neck and breathes. Keith smells heavenly. He smells like vanilla. He smells like flowers. He smells like the beach. He smells like home.

It is the first time he knocks Keith on his ass during a training session.

He puts his foot on Keith’s chest and grins down at him. Keith forgives Lance’s rudeness, standing up to congratulate the other boy. It is genuine.

That night, Lance cannot sleep. He paces his room, feeling vaguely annoyed at Keith. This isn’t fair. Keith is actually a nice person. Sometimes he is so nice to Lance that Lance wonders if Keith’s feelings ran deeper than friendship. He feels surer of that now, pacing in his room. While they sparred, he could smell Keith. The smell became more intense whenever Lance touched him.

That didn’t stop Lance’s vaguely annoyed feeling though. When he finds himself standing outside Keith’s door, he doesn’t quite know what he wants. He doesn’t entirely understand why he is angry. He leans his head against Keith’s door for a few moments. There is silence on the other side except for a steady beating that Lance imagines is in his head. Lance opens the door and enters, hoping he doesn’t catch a dagger in the chest for barging in.  

Keith had actually been asleep or close to it. He jerks up in bed, eyes wide, hand on his dagger.

“Lance, what the fuck…is something wrong? Are we under attack?”

“No. No we aren’t under attack”

“Oh…ok. Do you…need something?”

“No”

Keith finally stands up, muscles suddenly tense.

“Uh, are you sure everything is ok? You never come here at night. And you look weird, like really pale”

Lance sees the concern in Keith’s eyes and tries to focus on that and not the thing bubbling in his chest. Something primal is calling to him, something just beneath the surface.

“You think you are perfect, don’t you?”

Keith looks shocked. Lance is shocked as well. It is like he is on the outside looking in at himself doing and saying things that he didn’t understand.

“Lance, we resolved that issue months ago. Did I…did something new happen? I’m not perfect. You have seen me fuck up so much”

“Perfect, untouchable, just out of reeaaaaach” Lance’s voice goes lower on the last word and Keith backs away just slightly.

“You are being kind of creepy. Are you sleep walking? On something?”

“But being out of reach is kind of funny, right? I mean, you are the drop out, not me. Do you think anyone even missed you when you left?”

Keith’s face morphs from confused to hurt to angry. 

“You know what? Get out. I don’t know what is up with you, but I want you to get out”

“I’m not going anywhere”

Keith is finally angry, truly angry.

“Look, we can talk later when you aren’t acting like an asshole” He grabs Lance’s arm and drags him toward the door. Lance’s body goes semi-limp as he digs his feet into the floor, like a child who doesn’t want to go somewhere.

“God, Lance, just…just GO” Keith grabs his arm harder, fingers digging into Lance’s arm.

“Do you think your parents ever missed you?”

With this, Keith stops, turns, and throws a punch. There is a flash of bright light, though Lance somehow understands that the light only exists in his head. He is disorientated-he sees the punch coming, but nothing actually hits his face. Instead, he feels like he grabs Keith even though his hands are still by his sides. He is dizzy and nothing makes sense.

When he comes to, he is standing in front of Keith. Keith is standing very still, arm still out like he is throwing a punch except his fist is now slack. His eyes are blank.

Lance realizes he is panting. He feels connected to the boy in front of him in a way that feels physical even though they aren’t touching. It is similar to mind melding, except much more intense. And perhaps connected isn’t the right word.

Lance is giddy at this moment with power. He feels like he has little strings connected to his hands that are connected to Keith’s brain.

He can watch Keith now in a way he can’t always do at other times. And Keith is beautiful, beautiful and perfect to Lance’s eyes.

“Hey buddy” Lance tests. Keith doesn’t move.

“I just want to smell you. Is that ok?” Nothing.

So Lance does. He gets close to the other boy and smells, smells that aroma that is driving him crazy. Keith smells so good. Lance is so close that he can see Keith’s pulse flitting softly in his neck. It is more than that though. He feels like he can see the life force that keeps Keith’s body animated. The energy in blood that makes creatures move and feel and live. He can smell it. He gently pressed his lips against Keith’s neck and sighs as his life force pulses just under the surface of his skin.

There is still a part of Lance that is telling him to stop, but whatever had been unlocked that day in the training room with the bloody nose is stronger. It feels natural when Lance puts his hand to his mouth and realizes he now has fangs.

“Keith-Hey Keith. Go sit on the bed”

Keith wordlessly walks to the bed, sits, and waits. He is compliant. Lance is pleased.

Lance follows, sitting beside the other boy.

“Look at me”

Keith does, his eyes still blank. It is as natural as breathing when Lance leans over and gently sinks his fangs into Keith’s neck.

Keith cries out a bit, but does not resist. So, he is not a total zombie, Lance thinks. He fumbles a bit with this new powers. Before sinking his fangs even deeper, he experiments. Pulling on the invisible strings of Keith’s brain, Lance wills him to find this pleasurable. Wills him to be happy it is happening.

And Keith does. As Lance sinks his fangs deeper into that soft neck, Keith moans and leans his head away to give Lance easier access. In this manner, Lance enjoys what he feels to be the first meal of his life.

It is indescribable how it feels to have someone’s life spilling over your tongue. Keith tastes so good, so good. He drinks, trying to stifle his own moans as he swallows Keith down.

He can feel it all. Keith’s strength. His power. His pain. His loneliness. His happiness being a part of Voltron. How much he enjoyed simple pleasures like helping Pidge with a project or getting a Hunk hug. His complete trust in Shiro. The slow tendrils of love emerging when he thought of Lance.  His fear of being abandoned by all of them.

It is intoxicating.

When Lance finally pulls away, he feels high. He lays back on Keith’s bed and giggles lightly, squirming a bit and enjoying the warm feeling radiating from the very center of his being. It is the best he can ever remember feeling.

When he finally looks at Keith again, the boy is in the same position. He sits on the bed, waiting. Lance loosens his grip on his brain just a bit. Recognition flares in Keith’s eyes as well as confusion.

Nope. Lance cuts Keith off. Then, he orders the other boy to get into bed and close his eyes. He leans over Keith and experiments, amping up the connection he felt to Keith’s mind as much as he dared.

“You will go to sleep now. You will not remember me coming tonight. You will not remember any of this”

Keith squirms and whimpers, but eventually stills, appearing to sleep. Lance finally lets the hold slip. Keith still sleeps.

He exits into the hallway, eventually making his way back to his own room.

In the morning, he walks into breakfast and looks expectantly around the table. Everyone seems relaxed. Everything seems normal. Keith asks him cheerfully if he would like to train with him again today.

Lance smiles, leans over, and tells him he wouldn’t miss it for the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance gets creepier and Shiro gets suspicious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, this is the chapter where actual sex happens. It isn't graphic, but just be warned it happens and you can skip it by skipping the part starting with "And maybe it is the implication" to "Shiro trusts"
> 
> Hope you enjoy-Chapter 3 is getting so long that it may even go to four chapters-why am I so long-winded??

 

Lance settles into his new normal fairly easily. So he is a vampire. So what? There are moments where he struggles with guilt, but as soon as he smells Keith he knows he is going to go to his room every night no matter what. So, eventually the guilty pangs stop coming. They eat breakfast together. They train. They laugh. They talk. They go to bed. And then Lance creeps into Keith’s room.

He never turns on the light or knocks anymore. He has Keith trained not to react to him coming into the room. He leans over Keith’s motionless body and takes his time, smelling him, listening to his heart beat, occasionally licking the soft skin of his neck. Then he crawls under the covers with him and drinks until he catches that original high again. Keith enjoys it, or maybe Lance ordered him to enjoy it. Lance isn’t sure. He isn’t even sure if it matters either way anymore.

When the high subsides, he steps away from Keith and orders him-never tell anyone. I wasn’t here. You don’t remember this. Go back to sleep. And Keith obeys.

Lance occasionally experiments with Keith. He would enjoy this more if Keith were more conscious for it. Lance wanted Keith to be awake and bickering with him. Just, while, you know, giving up complete control to Lance. Lance gets better at the whole mind control thing. There are a few close calls where he relaxes his hold enough that Keith begins to panic or get angry, but that happens less and less now. Overall, he is getting closer to having a conscious Keith who participates in getting his own blood sucked from him.

He also practices in other ways. He can gently influence Keith during the day. The night time control would be a bit too noticeable still, but he can get Keith to agree with him or laugh at his jokes at opportune times. Lance also realizes that it isn’t just Keith. Hunk is very easily controlled. Lance doesn’t do it much though. Hunk is already his best friend and he doesn’t want anything else from him. Pidge is the hardest to control. It isn’t impossible, but Lance struggles with the iron wall that seems to surround her brain. Shiro is the wildcard. Sometimes he is easy and sometimes he is impossible. His mind is fractured and slippery whenever Lance dabbles in it. He doesn’t like doing it. He understands more than ever now that Shiro’s brain is damaged, damaged beyond the point of healing. Coran and Allura are impossible. He avoids using his new trick around them and assumes that they are immune due to not being human.

His bond with Keith deepens. He can sense the other boy now at all times. He can tell what he is feeling even when he isn’t inside his brain. Training against and with him takes on a new tenor. Lance is undoubtedly much stronger and faster than he used to be. He can also use him new jedi mind control tricks to tip scales in his favor. However, Keith also seems stronger and faster. Their skill increases to a point that no one else, not even Shiro, can challenge them. Working as a team? Lance believes that they can take down Zarkon himself. Their bodies seem to be working in perfect unison. He knows what Keith will do before he does it and vice versa. Allura marvels at their newfound skill, citing it as an example of what they all should strive for. Lance pretends the extra training sessions really helped that much, secretly snickering when Allura orders more training sessions for the other three.

As far as Lance is concerned, this new normal could last forever. He feels good. He feels powerful. He feels in control.

The problem is Keith though. As days turn to weeks, Keith’s normally pale skin turns even paler. He seems tired. His movements slow. Lance hopes it is his imagination and then later tries to cut back. It is hard when Keith’s blood is basically ambrosia from the gods to him. He tries to go a few days without going into Keith’s bedroom, but finds himself outside his door after the third night anyway, shivering for his fix.

He wonders if he can calculate how much he can take without ruining Keith’s body. He seeks Pidge out one day, the most book smart of the group.

“How much blood does a body make in one day?”

“What?” she had said, not turning from her current project of rebuilding Rover.

“Like, the body remakes blood every day right? How much”

“It doesn’t really work like that. Blood is actually made of different parts, the red blood cells, plasma…well you don’t need to know that. Just, different parts are made at different times.”

“So….like, how much blood can you lose per day before it becomes a problem?”

She looks at him then, noting an edge to his tone that makes this seem like not just normal Lance shenanigans.

“Is there a reason you are asking?”

“Just, come on Pidge, help me”

What could he tell her? That he might be drinking their friend to death?

“Well, again, it depends on the person and circumstances. You can only give blood every 8 weeks or so. You don’t replenish blood that quickly so donating more than that can be dangerous. I would assume it’s the same for injuries”

Lance nods and tries to look casual as he groans. He thought that blood was replenished every day.

Pidge carefully studies his face.

“You know, it is going to be fine. We have a great team and healing pods”

Lance realizes that she must think he is asking out of some weird fear of being injured and bleeding to death. He pretends to accept her reassurances and walks as quickly as possible out of the room.

Unfortunately, in his retreat, he rounds a corner to see Keith and Shiro in conversation down the hallway. It is obviously a serious conversation and, a moment later, he watches them walk into Shiro’s room. Lance groans to himself again and wonders if he is about to be found out and then staked by their fearless leader.

He returns to his room and paces back and forth, hoping his control over Keith was as good as he thought. It isn’t too long before there is a knock at his door.

“Lance, you in there?” It is Shiro. Lance’s heart jumps, but he is relieved that his tone seems friendly.

He opens the door and greets Shiro in a way that he hopes seems normal.

“So…” Shiro begins. Lance watches as Shiro…blushes. Shiro is actually blushing.

“I have seen you sneaking into Keith’s room at night” he blurts out before taking a deep breath.

“Uh, no, you must be mistaken. I never went to Keith’s room”

Shiro looks resigned and sighs.

“Listen, Keith said the same thing”

Lance cheers internally.

“But I know what I saw. And…I understand. I do, Lance. I understand” He puts a fatherly hand on Lance’s shoulder.

“You guys are young. You have needs”

“WAIT” Lance cries out. “What…What exactly do you think is happening??”

“I heard…Keith one of those nights”

Shiro looks away from him again and suddenly everything is very, very clear to Lance.

“Just, Keith has been looking really exhausted lately. No one cares that you two are….no one cares what you do behind closed doors. But can you maybe not do it in the middle of the night? No one will care or say anything if you guys need to take an hour or two during the day every once in awhile”

Lance battles the desire to laugh. He manages to hold it in just long enough to show proper remorse in front of Shiro, agree that they should cut back, and then say bye to him. As soon as the door is shut behind him, Lance throws himself down on his bed and screams with laughter into his pillow. Shiro thinks that he is fucking Keith so much that Keith can’t handle it. He thinks their sex life is so explosive that it is risking Keith’s health. Lance hopes this rumor spreads across the entire team or maybe even beyond that. Back to Earth. The entire Universe.  

And maybe it is the implication from Shiro, or just a natural progression, but Lance finds himself wondering what it would be like to have Keith in other ways. He already snuggles him in bed while sucking on his neck. It isn’t a big stretch to start requesting that Keith take his clothes off during this. It isn’t a big stretch to kiss him before and afterward, deepening the intimacy of their time together at night. It isn’t a big stretch to jack him off occasionally while licking at his blood. In fact, Lance finds that Keith actually being aroused makes the blood sweeter, more potent.

So it isn’t a big stretch one night when he finds himself pulling Keith into his lap.

They are both virgins and Lance has a now rare pang of guilt as he looks at the vulnerable boy carefully sitting in his lap waiting for instructions. In another reality, perhaps Lance would have wanted this to happen another way. They would have started dating, realizing their growing attraction on the training deck or maybe even after a difficult battle. He would have brought flowers to Keith and laughed when he realized Keith had done the same for him. They would have made new inside jokes together and grossed out the team with little public displays of affection. Then, when the time is right, they would have shared their bodies with one another.

But that reality doesn’t exist, not anymore. So Lance takes the plunge, slipping inside the other boy. When he comes, he bites down on his neck, overwhelmed with sensation.

Afterward, Lance can’t quite look at Keith, curled up on the bed, naked and bloody. Lance feels like he can no longer go back, if even remembers what going back would be like. Something has effectively ended inside of him. He feels like he let go of something that used to allow him to call himself a human. He wants to cry, but doesn’t.

 

**********

 

Shiro trusts his team more than anything. He believes fate itself has brought them together to save the universe. He knows that, despite their quirks, every person in the castle is a good person he can trust with his life. Lance, particularly, had always seemed kind even if he hid it underneath flirting and bickering.

That is why Shiro is slow to recognize the growing feeling inside of him that something is wrong. Something is desperately wrong. The first time he saw Lance go into Keith’s room, he assumed that they were just discussing something. However, he saw it again and then heard Keith’s low moans from the bedroom. He had been shocked to a certain extent, but he had long suspected that the boys liked each other. I mean, it isn’t that strange that young, hormonal people would eventually find themselves in each other’s beds at night. Shiro isn’t a prude.

However, Keith was suffering. He seemed exhausted which, at first, made Shiro wonder if all of Lance’s boasting about his skills were actually true. But, it went beyond just being tired. He was paler than usual. He had bags under his eyes. He lost weight.

There was something more nagging Shiro though. He had seen two young people in love before. Keith was not acting like a young person in love. He wasn’t even acting like someone who had a great friends with benefits situation. He didn’t seem the type of tired that comes from mind-blowing orgasms every night. He just seemed tired. Or worse.

There was also something unsettling about how Lance and Keith interacted now. Even normal activities felt off to Shiro.

For example, Lance and Keith had sat on the couch many times before, casually making conversation. So, why did it feel wrong now? Keith looked smaller next to Lance, more closed off. His shoulders drooped. Lance had an arm casually behind Keith, not even touching him, on the couch. Somehow, this normal gesture felt possessive. There was something dark in Lance’s face that didn’t exist before. It was verging on predatory. His normally brilliant and lively blue eyes seemed cold now.

Shiro then thought back to the awkward conversations he had with Keith and Lance. Lance had finally admitted to going to Keith’s room at night. This made sense to Shiro. What didn’t make sense was the fact that Keith was the most horrible liar Shiro had ever met. He could barely tell a white lie in a convincing manner, let alone convincingly lie to Shiro over and over again. So, why had it seemed like Keith was genuinely perplexed by Shiro seeing Lance enter his room? Keith hadn’t been lying, but that didn’t make sense because Shiro knows what he saw, what he heard, what Lance admitted to doing.  

Shiro struggles with what to do. He knows something is off, but he isn’t sure what it is. He doesn’t understand why his instincts are screaming that Keith is somehow being hurt. That he needs to protect Keith. Protect Keith…from Lance?

The thought chills Shiro.

He eventually confronts Keith again about Lance entering his room at night and Keith is more honest, but still denies the times from before Shiro talked to them first. Shiro has no idea why Keith would so genuinely lie about that now that the cat is out of the bag, but he also feels like this is the key to why Keith seems to be fading away.

So, he takes action and goes to Coran, asking for all the security tapes they have, hoping to find something that will either calm his nerves or prove him right.

 

**********

 

It is night again, and Lance strokes Keith’s face beside him in bed. They are both naked and Lance has finished in every way that counts already. As he looks down at the pale boy, the same primal, instinctual part of him that had first made him want to bite Keith began to spiral again. He puts his fingers to Keith’s mouth, gently touching the soft lips that he was so used to kissing now.

Without thinking, he reaches for Keith’s dagger. He turns it over softly in his hands, flitting his eyes between the blade and Keith’s unmoving body, violet eyes looking up at him, waiting. He feels like he is violating Keith again by stroking the dagger. Keith had always been so protective of the dagger. Others didn’t touch it. He always had it within reach. And now he watches Lance play with it.  

He is so helpless right now, Lance thinks. I could do anything to him and he would take it. Lance holds the dagger to Keith’s neck. He would like it.  I could slit this throat and he would like it as he bled out in front of me. He drags the dagger lower, down Keith’s pale body to his stomach. Or I could gut him. Leave his body here for Shiro to discover in the morning. A part of Lance screams in happiness at his thoughts.

Before he knows it, he has lowered the dagger to his own wrist and slashed it. He then brings his wrist to Keith’s mouth and orders the other boy to drink. Keith complies.

Lance isn’t sure why he does this. Maybe he has so much Keith inside him now that he wants Keith to have the same from him.

For a moment, nothing happens. Lance shrugs and begins to wipe his blood off the blade. Then, Keith’s eyes go wide and he screams.

The scream rips through the air, filled with anguish. Lance panics as he cannot control Keith’s mind at this moment. He puts his hand over Keith’s mouth in a desperate attempt to stop his screaming. The boy’s screams continue even with this gesture so Lance twists Keith’s face down into the pillow.

He uses his full force to pin Keith’s head, muffling the pain-filled shrieks still emerging from the other boy’s mouth. Keith’s back arches, writhing and gripping at the sheets.

A horrible minute or two pass before Keith goes limp. Lance briefly worries that he has accidentally killed him. He pulls his head up and sees that Keith is still breathing and seems conscious.

A new fear emerges for Lance when he hears a knock at the door.

“Who is it?” Lance prays it isn’t Shiro.

“It’s Shiro. Is everything ok?”

“Yes, everything is fine. Just, you know”

“I’m coming in”

Lance realizes that he has about 5 seconds to save his ass and quickly whispers in Keith’s ear, relieved that, at the very least, Keith’s eyes are open now.  

The door slides open and an obviously suspicious Shiro steps into the room. Lance keeps his wrist hidden underneath the sheets, but the blood around Keith’s mouth is noticeable.

“What the hell, you two. Keith, what’s wrong”

Shiro walks across the room, concern in his face for Keith and open anger now when he looks at Lance.

“Keith was just feeling good and he bit his lip” Lance groans at the weakness of his own excuse. Keith looks at him, eyes unfocused. Then, he turns toward Shiro, not quite making eye contact.

“Yeah. That is what happened, Shiro. Lance makes me feel so good, so good. I bit myself it was so good” Keith licks his lips.

Shiro takes a step back, his face suddenly blank.

Lance can’t stop himself from squeezing Keith’s hand underneath the blanket.

That was his boy.

 

His boy.

 

His.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justice 4 Rover


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shiro tries to save Keith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is later than I expected and also got a lot longer than I thought it would be. There will be the conclusion tomorrow and I am not sure if I am excited or scared to post the ending, ha ha. Shit is about to go down and I hope I can do it justice.

Shiro doesn’t sleep that night, staring up at the ceiling trying to make sense of what he had seen. He knows both of these boys. He was friends with them, or more than friends. They were teammates and he would give his life to save them. But, he could not shake the feeling that what he had seen in that bed was not Lance and Keith.

They had seemed comfortable together. Keith was not bound in any way. There had been blood, but not a lot. Keith didn’t seem afraid or like he was being forced into anything. But, Shiro knew he was missing something. Keith had almost seemed high, pupils blown, a sensual husk to his voice that was bizarre coming from someone like Keith.

Shiro had seen the way Lance had pulled Keith close to him. The position in any other scenario would seem protective and loving, but it felt violent and possessive here. The smug look on Lance’s face after Keith defended Lance…it did not feel like the happy boy that he had known all these months. A few months ago and this scenario would have ended with embarrassed blushes and nervous laughter and not making eye contact for a few days. Not the blazed look on Keith’s face and Lance’s cruel smirk.

Something inside of him had wanted to march across the room, pull Keith away, and take him back to his room. But, he hadn’t. Nothing in that room seemed to indicate a lack of consent. Maybe Keith just liked it rough. Maybe that brought something out in Lance. Maybe…

Shiro’s explanations cannot quite calm the churning of his stomach. It isn’t just these little weird behaviors that unsettle him. It is everything. Keith’s training had been getting worse and worse lately. The other day, he could not create Voltron at all. Shiro had taken him aside afterward, asking him what had happened. Keith had shakily explained that he felt disconnected from Voltron, from the others. In a hushed voice, Keith had admitted to Shiro that he felt like Red was going to reject him. Though Shiro comforted him then, this felt like another piece of the puzzle that Shiro can’t quite fit into a cohesive whole. Keith is an amazing Paladin. He trains hard. He worked to develop a close bond with Red. Shiro cannot quite grasp why, all of a sudden, one of their best assets would be struggling to create Voltron or even connect to his lion.

He promises himself that he will go through the video footage as closely as possible tomorrow as well as keep an eye on the two. He can’t help but feel like he is making a huge mistake right now not being more proactive and that this mistake will cost him something very dear.

 

**********

 

Lance takes some free time during the next day to do some research. He wants to know if he can get lucky and get some information in what he considers a library in the Castle, though it is not quite set up like a library would be on Earth. He is able to find out from Coran that they have some books that are audio books, though Coran did not use that terminology. The translation tool embedded in their brains from the lions only seems to work with spoken word and not written language. The more old-fashioned texts on Altean paper are unreadable.

Of course, even with this help, it is slow going finding a book that might give him information. He knows that, vaguely, he is a vampire. But, that is a human word. Altean information would call them something else. He has no idea what the alien version of the word would be. It is a stroke of luck that he finds what he would consider an encyclopedia of alien types. He briefly thanks whatever gods might still be looking down on him mercifully for the advanced Altean technology that basically acts as Siri as he speaks his commands.  He looks up “Galra” and “Altean,” noting some out-of-date information, before finally searching “Vampire.”

The program waits for a moment before returning with an entry. Lance is amazed.

“Isn’t this convenient for necessary plot exposition!” he says before eagerly sitting back to listen to the entry.

The voice begins,

“Vampire, an incorrect term used by several less developed civilizations for alien type Fampirs. For the main entry, please go to Fampir.”

Lance prompts the audio book.

“Fampir, an alien type emerging out of the Caru system in the 12th Cycle of the Seventh Year. Mistakenly called vampires by some civilizations.”

Though it’s nice to know what he is now, Lance really only wants certain information. He only passingly pays attention to a history of the alien species before perking back up at the following words:  

“Fampirs are known for being able to convert other life forms to their type. There are some exceptions of creatures impervious to their abilities. However, if susceptible, the Fampir can alter another life form to their type by forcing the blood of three leaders into that life form.”

Huh, Lance thinks. So, he isn’t changing Keith into one of him.

“In another process, Fampirs can create gwas, or what might otherwise be known as servants.”

Lance perks up again. A servant? A human servant? A thrall? A Renfield? A drudge?

“The process to create such a servant involves having that servant drink the blood of the same Fampir three times. The process can be a difficult one as it involves biological shifts unique to this type of alien. The body of the servant will change during and immediately after these three doses to accommodate their new master. The servant will produce as much blood as the master needs, for example, once the process is completed. Both servant and master will become stronger throughout the process with a marked improvement afterward. This process can happen with or without the consent of the future servant. Some Fampirs will create servants out of unwilling prisoners for food and strength purposes. This process can be difficult and/or dangerous for a Fampir as the process of changing a life form into a Fampir Servant can weaken the mind control abilities of that Fampir temporarily. If the process is happening without the consent of the life form, then it is suggested that the Fampir bind the future servant from movement.

 After the process is completed, the servant will be conscious and aware, yet will no longer have free will. Their master will become their top and often only priority.”

Lance’s head is spinning. He stops the book and puts his head in his hands. Three times. Keith. His servant. No free will. Unlimited blood. Strength. Would he be conscious? He briefly considers the morality of his actions, but only briefly. His soul is already tainted and Keith is basically dangling in front of him like a prize, a sweet prize that would belong to him in body and soul.  

Lance has one more stop to make before he is done for the day. While he is following Coran around shortly after coming to the Castle, Lance had seen what Coran calls a supply closet. The supply closet has pretty much everything you can imagine from small, practical weapons to fabric and materials used to create armor. Lance has a different need in mind though as he rummages through the “closet” that is really more like a room. He sorts through various items, ones he recognizes and ones he does not. There is a dagger that is small, but sharp. Lance pockets it.  There is a tiny lion that is sharp and might be a blade of some sort. A vial of something yellow that Lance does not tempt opening. An entire set of what seem to be flags or banners-Lance briefly wonders if they are Altean or planets from previous alliances. It is underneath the flags that he finds exactly what he is looking for. It is nestled in a fairly small box with sharp rivets on the sides. Lance’s heart soars when he sees it.

It is _perfect._

 

**********

 

“Keith, you trust me right?”

Shiro finally has Keith alone. The boy looked awful. Worse than Shiro had ever seen him look save for a few bad days back in their Garrison days together.

“You know I do.”

“Ok, then please just hear me out and give what I am saying some thought. Ok?”

“Fine.”

“Lance is the issue.”

“Shiro…”

“No, you said you would hear me out. Something is wrong. Something is wrong with you. And I think Lance is to blame somehow. I don’t know if he is sick too or if he knows what he is doing….”

“Shiro, Lance is my boyfriend. He isn’t doing anything to me and I don’t see how you can blame my fucking up on him.”

“Ok, just…look. Look at the tapes.”

Here, Shiro pulls out the fruit of his diligent searches. He does not find a smoking gun by any means, but he does find some oddities.

The first set of tapes show Lance going into Keith’s room, night after night. The dates clearly showed that he was going into Keith’s room well before Keith remembered him going into his room.

“Uh, well, ok. That is weird, but maybe it is a mistake. Maybe the dates are incorrect. Maybe I am mixed up on dates. I mean, the dates are fake anyway right? It’s not like days are the same here in space. I think Allura and Coran just pretend to date stuff because it makes us feel better.”

“Alright, but, just keep that in mind. Keep in mind when he started going into your room and how it does not match up with when you think he started going into your room. But, watch this.”

A few more clips play of Lance…well, being weird. There really isn’t any other word for it. Several of them show him smelling Keith when Keith obviously doesn’t know it is happening. Others show him standing outside Keith’s door, nose almost touching the door, for longer than what would be considered normal by any standards. A few clips show him walking out of Keith’s room at night, laughing with a crazed look in his eyes.

“Ok, so…I mean, Shiro we are having sex. He likes how I smell. He is happy after we do it. Uh, maybe the door clips…are from before we were actually dating so he was nervous.”

“Do you hear how many excuses you are making for him?”

“I am saying if we looked at weeks upon weeks of footage of anyone we would find them being weird in some way.”

“Ok, fine. One last clip.”

The final clip pops up. It shows that day. The one of them sparring together and Shiro’s hand breaking Keith’s nose. Then, it shows everyone leave except for Lance. Keith wonders why this is evidence until he sees Lance appear to lick his hands. Then, he drops to the ground and licks the ground. Keith can feel Shiro’s expectant eyes on him.

“Uh. Ok. Maybe….no. That is weird. You got me, Lance was being weird. Maybe he has a weird kink he hasn’t told me about?”

“But, Keith, ok. Take all of this evidence and date it and Lance starts being weird and going into your room at night about the time that you started feeling sick and tired all the time. Now he is spending every night with you and you cannot form Voltron. Keith, your lion is about to reject you.”

Shiro’s voice drops here. He knows that being a Paladin and saving the universe means everything to Keith. He knows Keith considers everyone in that Castle family. He knows that Keith has found a purpose, a purpose that he has struggled to find his entire, lonely life. He also found a family, a place to belong.

And now all of it is being taken from him and Shiro is convinced that Lance is behind it, smoking gun evidence or not.

Keith is quiet.

“Just, maybe, can you take a break from Lance at least? Maybe spend a few nights in my room?”

Keith’s head jerks over.

“I would sleep on the floor obviously. Just, one night and we will see what happens?”

“Nothing will happen. You just won’t sleep well.”

“You said you trusted me. Give it at least one night.”

Keith finally agrees. He pulls Lance aside later, after dinner, to tell him the plan. He makes some excuse about it being for training reasons. Lance can feel Shiro’s sharp eyes on him while the conversation happens. He laughs, says its fine and that maybe they do need to rest up a bit. He teases Keith about not cheating on him before walking away, pretending like he doesn’t care.

In the privacy of his own room, Lance is furious though. He paces all night thinking about Keith being in Shiro’s room. He leans his head against the bathroom door and, before he knows it, slams his head against the door in an attempt to make the anger subside. The pain helps briefly. He bangs his head repeatedly until, finally, he feels calm enough to stop. When he looks at the door afterward, he can see dried blood on it.

 

**********

 

The next day has Lance joking with Pidge and Hunk and brightly saying good morning to Keith and Shiro when they walk in. Keith’s connection to Red seems stable during training though Voltron is still a no-go. Everyone seems a bit less tense.

Shiro momentarily doubts himself in regards to Lance, but also notes that Keith and Red’s connection appeared stronger only after Keith spends a night away from Lance. He pulls Keith aside after the training for the day and makes him promise to spend a few more nights alone, reassuring him that sometimes that was good for relationships and that maybe Keith had been overdoing it.

Keith agrees, but wants to sleep in his own room. Now it is Shiro’s turn to feel Lance’s sharp eyes on him as he pats Keith on the back and agrees that Keith can return to his own room that night.

 

**********

 

Lance decides that he is seeing Keith that night even if he has to kill Shiro to make it happen. He makes his way to Keith’s door, stopping when he sees a hunched form beside it. Anger flares through his body as he recognizes Shiro, laying down beside the door with a pillow and blanket brought from his room.

He briefly considers how easy it would be. Lance has the dagger from the supply closet. Shiro is asleep. It would be nothing, nothing at all to slit his throat. Shiro wouldn’t even realize what was happening until he was already gagging on his life slipping away from him on the floor of the Castle hallway.

Then, he imagines the clean-up, the next morning, the fact that people would get suspicious when cameras showed no intruders, and decides that a bloodless tactic might be a smarter idea. Lance is feeling powerful and reckless so he makes some gentle moves to enter Shiro’s brain. Shiro is actually like an open book tonight and Lance briefly remembers from the Altean Encyclopedia that people who are asleep are more vulnerable to mind control.  

“Hey buddy” Lance whispers. “Do you wanna go back to your bedroom? Go to sleep in your own room?”

Shiro looks at him blearily. For a moment, Lance is afraid it didn’t work. But, Shiro gets up, tugging his blanket after him, and walks toward his room.

Relieved, Lance opens the door to Keith’s room. Though it has only really been one night, he is overwhelmed by how much he misses the other boy. A rush of emotions hits him as he sees Keith curled up in bed.

The Altean Encyclopedia is not joking about the process to make someone a servant making mind control harder though. When Keith wakes, Lance finds it difficult to control him. Keith, at first, wants to know why Lance is here since they agreed to spend the night apart. He seems awake in a way he had not been in weeks. Lance has to use all of his puppy dog eye abilities and saying he misses Keith to get Keith to let him into the bed. Once in the bed, he pretends to be going to sleep while really working his way into Keith’s brain again. Finally, he sees Keith’s eyes go blank, the telltale sign that Lance was in.

He doesn’t fuck him tonight. No, they have more important things to do.

He brings his prize from the supply closet onto the bed and gently begins the process. He first smells Keith, then licks down his neck and chest. Oh god, he missed this, he thinks, nuzzling Keith’s collarbone. He doesn’t want to lose Keith. He cannot lose Keith.

He grabs Keith’s dagger again. It feels right to do it this way with Keith’s own blade. He slits his wrist like before, bringing it to Keith’s mouth, and loving the feeling of Keith’s sucking on it. When Keith is finished, Lance drags his supply closet find over to Keith’s head.

It is a muzzle. An Altean muzzle that Lance figures was used for prisoner purposes at some point since it was in a room that had mostly weapons and related items. The muzzle clamps easily over Keith’s tongue and then under his jaws and around his head. Lance had figured that this would be easier than Lance himself trying to stop Keith’s shrieks. However, he didn’t expect to like how it looked on him this much.  

It is not long before Keith is thrashing around in the bed, muffled screams emerging from his mouth. Though it had worried Lance before, now the sight makes him happy. He knew Keith’s body was changing. He knew it was changing for _him_.

He holds Keith through the thrashing and struggles. He gently bites his neck and licks up the blood on and off throughout the night, even after Keith has finally gone limp.

 

**********

 

Keith wakes up in a cold sweat. He has no idea where he is. Lance is next to him, asleep, with an arm over his body.

A veil has been lifted.

The fog that has been inside Keith for weeks clears and he suddenly remembers. Lance had lied about coming to his room. Why didn’t Keith remember before? Brief flashes of memories float into Keith’s mind-Lance dragging his dagger over his body. Lance hurting him. Lance biting him? Lance raping him?

Had he consented to any of that? Had he been asleep?

A feeling of cold terror hits him and he would have cried out if it were not for the fact that he cannot make any noise right now for a reason he would have to figure out later.

Keith realizes that he has been losing time. He doesn’t quite get it, but he knows that Lance has been manipulating him. He looks down at the other boy and sees a face that almost doesn’t look human with two fangs peeking out of his sleeping mouth.

Keith trembles with fear and knows that he has to get to Shiro. He stumbles out of the bed as quietly as he can and then exits his room. His vision immediately blurs. He is confused and disorientated. He struggles to walk.  

He tries to run to Shiro’s room, but only makes it a few steps before he gets double vision. His body lurches as he has to grab onto the wall so he won’t fall to the ground. He walks leaning against the wall for support.  

He slowly makes his way down the hallway when he hears it behind him.

“Keith. Keeeeeeeith”

It is Lance, whispering after him, a deadly edge to his voice.

Keith tries to move faster. He looks behind him and all he can see are shadows in the dark hallway.

He tries to scream, scream for Shiro or anyone else to help him. He then discovers the reason why he can’t make noise. The muzzle is still on his face. His fingers fumble with the strap, desperate to get it off.

“Keith, Keeeeithy, come here Keith. Why are you running away?”

He can now hear footsteps behind him.

He gives up on the muzzle. Get to Shiro.

He can see Shiro’s door.

Shiro will help you. He will protect you.

He summons his strength. One last push. Shiro’s door.

Shiro. Help me

 

Protect me

 

Please

 

I'm Scared

 

Please

 

He reaches his hand out for the door.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Run, Keith, Run.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Final Battle for Keith's Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate meeeeeeeeee
> 
> Also, thanks for literally all the support. I cannot believe how many hits/kudos this has. I had so much fun writing it.   
> I have competing desires for what I want to write in the future about Klance-I either like fluffy or sad/awful. I think the sadist in me has been awoken though because I want to write more like this, ha ha. I have a few ideas-is there anything you guys want to see? Anything terrible and awful we need more of in the fandom, lol? I do have a general idea for a zombie-like fic (NOT a zombie apocalypse though) and also a someone gets taken prisoner and tortured fic (though I know we have a lot of those) but I am open to inspiration.

 

Keith’s fingers just scrape the door when he feels Lance’s hand on his shoulder dragging him backwards. He struggles, reaching out again for the door, for Shiro. He tries to scream again, silenced by the muzzle around his face. There are a few moments of silent battle, bodies straining. Keith stumbles to the ground. He attempts to flip himself over to kick Lance off, but Lance is stronger. Lance grips the back of his neck and all Keith can do is helplessly strain against the cold floor of the hallway, drooling into the muzzle.

Lance lifts his weight off Keith and begins dragging him backward by his feet. Keith makes one last effort to claw his way free, fingernails desperately seeking hold on the floor. He does not find it.

A moment later he is lifted up by powerful hands that pull him upright and then push his back up against the wall. He pushes weakly against Lance, fighting for what he assumes is his life. A moment later, he feels searing pain in his side. He looks down to see a blade sticking out of his stomach, pushed hard enough that the end of the blade hit the wall behind him. He tries to grab at it, but he is effectively pinned by Lance’s body, one of the boy’s hands around his throat and the other pinning his shoulder back. His knee presses between Keith’s thighs. In a now distant past, Keith could have easily thrown Lance off of him even in this position, but he is dizzy. His hands shake. The blade in his stomach is killing him. Lance and the wall are the only things keeping him upright at this point.

He finally dares to look into the eyes of the one he used to trust with his life. They are the same eyes of the boy he loves, or loved. They could be sparring or play wrestling right now if not for the blade in his side.

Lance smiles at him and then reaches behind his head, loosening the muzzle. Keith is ready to beg at this point. He doesn’t want to die. He is so young. He has stuff to do. A healing pod would save him, even at this point. The muzzle is pulled off and Keith opens his mouth only to be met with Lance’s lips pressing against his.

 

**********

 

Keith has never been so beautiful to Lance. Pinned against the wall, body trembling, eyes fearful and pleading. Lance had stabbed him, almost without meaning to. He just needed Keith to stop. This was their moment. This was _the_ moment for them. And it was going to happen maybe 10 feet from where Shiro, who tried to steal Keith, slept.

He smiles when Keith finally submits, body going limp. Lance begins loosening the muzzle at the same time as using his new, sharp teeth to rip through the tender flesh of his own mouth and tongue. As soon as the muzzle falls, he presses his mouth against Keith’s, kissing him tenderly.

He deepens the kiss, grabbing Keith’s hair in order to tilt his head upward. Lance makes sure his blood is hitting its mark, licking it into the other boy’s mouth. When he is sure that Keith has consumed him, he pulls back and quickly puts the muzzle back in its place.

“It’s ok Keith” he murmurs, stroking the side of the other boy’s face. Lance pulls the dagger out of his stomach.  

“See, it’s fine. Our bodies are like healing pods now. And I am going to take care of you. Everything is ok” He hugs the other boy close to him.

He carries Keith back to his room, laying him across the bed bridal style. Keith is now unconscious, breathing slowed and shallow.

Lance only leaves him to clean up the blood in the hallway and then returns to Keith’s side, thinking of their next step.

He takes the muzzle off once he is sure that Keith won’t scream. Keith looks beautiful sleeping in the bed, like Lance’s personal sleeping beauty. His skin is marble white, hair impossibly black and shiny, fanning out around his head. His lips are red and Lance pretends it’s not because his own blood still stains them.

 

**********

 

The next morning, Lance watches Keith wake up. He sits up and stretches, overall looking surprisingly normal. Lance is content. He can feel just how connected they are now. Hearing about the relationship in the Altean Encyclopedia did nothing to prepare Lance for the extreme closeness he felt to Keith at this moment. They are like one soul in two bodies. He pounces on the other boy, kissing all over his face while Keith giggles and tries to kiss him back. It is a joyous moment for both of them.  

“What are we going to do?” Keith asks him later.

“What exactly do you mean?” Lance responds, curious to see what Keith has to say.

“I am not the Red Paladin anymore.”

“No, you aren’t.”

“Shiro is going to be a problem.”

“Yes, he is.”

Lance considers options. It was possible to take Shiro out and attempt to stay here, continuing his work as the Blue Paladin and keeping Keith by his side anyway. No one seemed suspicious but Shiro at this point. But, it seemed like a lot of work for what no longer seemed important to Lance.

“What do you think about leaving, Keith?”

“I go wherever you go.”

“That isn’t what I asked. Do you want to leave?”

“If you leave, then I go with you,” Keith repeats fiercely.

“And if I tell you to leave while I continue being the Blue Paladin?”

“Then I will leave, but think you are an asshole.”

Lance laughs.

There is something comfortable about the conversation, just like old times.

 

**********

 

The plan is simple. It’s too late now to escape that day so they have to go about the day like everything is normal. Then, that night, they would meet once they were sure Shiro wasn’t watching them and leave with Blue. Lance’s connection to Blue didn’t seem damaged currently. They weren’t terrible people though. Once they found a way to survive, they would find a secret place to put Blue where she would be safe until the Castle found her again.  

The plan goes perhaps a bit too smoothly. It helps that Keith is back, for lack of a better word. He looks better than he has in weeks. He convincingly assures Shiro that he feels much better now and even spars with him. They chat idly with the other paladins. It is the closest to normal the Castle has seen in a long time. Allura and Coran are thrilled that everything has worked out.

They share a peaceful dinner together. Hunk and Lance make comfortable small talk. Pidge interjects with sarcastic remarks. Keith asks her about her recent projects. Keith and Lance occasionally bicker. Shiro overlooks them, silently. To an outside eye, they would look like the same family they had always been.   

It is relatively easy to hide that two members of the family eagerly awaited a future that did not include anyone else there.

 

**********

 

Lance can barely contain himself when the time finally arrives to leave. He is happy, so happy as he packs a small bag of essentials, including the muzzle he liked so much on Keith, of course.

He stands by the lion waiting for Keith and imagining all the things they could do together now. Most of them started and ended with Lance drinking Keith’s blood, but hey, every couple has their thing.

Finally, he hears Keith behind him and wheels around ready to drag him into the lion.

“So, what are you doing here?”

It isn’t Keith, but rather an even-toned Shiro, face unreadable in the dark.

“Uh, nothing, I must have been sleep-walking.”

“Why do you have a bag packed.”

“I must have just grabbed it accidentally.”

“Why was there blood outside my bedroom door last night?”

“I have no idea.”

Shiro looks tired, very tired, and very done.

“I am going to tell you how the rest of this night is going to go. I am going to take you to a cryopod and lock you up. We will figure out what is wrong with you tomorrow. If you think you are leaving, you are not, and definitely not with Keith or a lion. I do not trust you right now, Lance.”

Shiro crosses his arms with the calm authority that Lance had once respected, even revered. Shiro had been his hero and his leader. But that was in a past that Lance no longer recognized.

“Why are you so mad, Shiro? Are you angry I got to Keith first?”

The look of shock on Shiro’s face is almost comical.

“I never, ever wanted Keith in that way.”

“Then why won’t you just leave us alone?”

“Jesus Lance, I am not interfering with your relationship. Keith is sick and you are lying!”

“Keith is fine.”

“He couldn’t even activate his bayard today. He might look better, but you are messing him up somehow. It is all you, Lance. There is something wrong with you!”

Lance sneers, angry at this man, angry at the fact that Shiro was trying to keep him away from Keith, angry that he was blocking their escape now. His anger flows through him in ripples when he realizes that he messed up.

“What the FUCK”

It is one of the few times he had heard Shiro swear. Lance knew that his human appearance was twisting under his anger, showing the parts of him that betrayed what he really is. His teeth, his eyes, his features twist his face into something not quite human.

“I knew it,” Shiro hisses, getting into a defensive stance. Before Lance knows it, he has launched himself at Shiro. He is not great at hand-to-hand combat and never has been, but as the two men grapple he finds himself holding his own.

“Are you even Lance??”

“The one and only, baby” Lance hisses back as he bites down on Shiro’s human arm and tears a mouthful of flesh out of it.  It is a move that he pays for dearly as Shiro barely pauses to yelp before blasting him with his Galra arm. Lance goes down on one knee and Shiro throws an uppercut that has him seeing stars.

Lance is momentarily bitter that, even with his biology altered to make him stronger and faster, Shiro is still beating him. Shiro, the last obstacle standing between him and Keith. Shiro, a mountain of a man who takes Lance’s punches like they are nothing.

Sensing that he is losing, Lance switches into a primal mode of fighting that would be foreign to previous versions of him. He is all teeth and claws, thrashing against the bigger man. He feints to the left, drawing Shiro’s attention before clawing at his face. He wants to tear Shiro’s eyes out.

Shiro kicks his left leg, forcing Lance to his knee again before grabbing his neck and squeezing. He slams Lance to the ground. In the downward motion, Lance pulls the dagger from his waistband and thrusts upward, hoping he catches something incapacitating or even fatal.

Shiro sees it happening though and dodges. The blade misses anything important and merely cuts his side before clattering to the ground beside them. He uses his body to pin Lance to the ground. Raising his arm, he punches Lance in the face, once, twice, three times before his face splits open and his body goes limp.

Lance is done and he knows it.

“It’s too late, old man” he spits out.

“What do you mean?”

“Keith’s gone”

“What…what do you mean?”

“He is gone” Lance laughs horribly, blood and mangled flesh covering his now barely recognizable face as he leans his head forward and cackles in Shiro’s face.

“Keith…you killed Keith?”

The look on Shiro’s face is unmistakable. He grabs Lance’s dagger and raises it up in the air. He is going to kill Lance. Lance is going to die. He can’t fight anymore. He can barely stay awake. His body has amazing healing powers, but Shiro is aiming for his heart, which won’t heal.

Lance closes his eyes as Shiro brings the dagger down. He remembers Keith. Keith who cradled him in his arms. Keith who challenged him. Keith’s mullet. Keith whose teasing slowly drifted from mean to affectionate. Keith who always made him feel safe during missions. Keith’s smell. Keith who had whimpered in his arms as Lance held his body. Lance remembered and said a silent goodbye.

 

**********

 

Lance is confused why time passes and passes, but he remains alive. He opens his eyes slowly, looking up at Shiro hovering above him, dagger still raised in the air. Shiro’s eyes are wide, mouth open, a slow tremble running through his body.

It takes Lance a second to see the object poking out of Shiro’s chest with large blood stain spreading.

He then sees familiar black, white, and red boots though the body of the owner of those boots is blocked by Shiro’s larger one.

“Keith” Lance whispers.

Keith drags his dagger out of Shiro’s chest, spurting blood over Lance. He pushes Shiro to the side. The older man falls to the side where he remains still, blood pooling underneath his body.

Keith frowns angrily at Lance.

“You idiot. Why would you fight him alone when you could have called me?”

He pulls up Lance by the front of his shirt.

“Do you need some blood?”  

“Once we are in the lion. Jesus, Keith, let’s just go”

He wraps his arms around Keith as they make their way into the lion.

Once in space, Lance turns on autopilot, gets up, and pulls Keith close to his body. He had almost lost him. He kisses him desperately. Mine, he thinks. Mine mine mine. Keith kisses him back before baring his neck again, allowing Lance access. Mine. As Lance drinks, he finds Keith’s hand and holds it tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the ending is not what you wanted. It is the vampire fic I always wanted to read. Like, in most vampire stuff I have read the humans always won or the vampire ended up serving the human because of "love" OR the vampire was a "vegetarian" because he or she felt bad about drinking human blood. I didn't want to do those. 
> 
> Again, thanks for the support! I will be posting other Voltron/Klance fics in addition to my other ongoing one so maybe we will see each other again :)

**Author's Note:**

> Two more chapters left that will be uploaded Saturday and Sunday night :)


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